As the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship enters its closing stage, only four teams remain.  Butler, Virginia Commonwealth, Connecticut and Kentucky make up the Final Four.

The Butler Bulldogs from Indianapolis, Indiana have been the ‘Cinderella’ team of the tournament, upsetting top ranked teams only as an 8th seed.  They make a repeat return to the Final Four, losing in the closing seconds of the Finals to Duke last year.

Another team making a surprise run into the Final Four is 11th Virginia Commonwealth , who upset number 1 seed Kansas in the Elite Eight.

On the other side of the bracket the Kentucky Wildcats took down North Carolina and Ohio State in their last two rounds to take the East Region. With 145 wins, Kentucky owns the all time NCAA tournament record. The UConn Huskies emerge from the West Region after taking down hometown favorite San Diego State.

Some Carlsbad High students took the SDSU Aztecs’ loss to heart, hoping to see the homewtown team make it to the finals.

“At the time the loss was devastating, but BYU and Jimmer Fredette’s downfall made it almost bearable,” Junior Ian Du said.

Basketball enthusiast Junior Mark Reiner tries to take a more optimistic view to the Aztecs’ early exit.

“I wasn’t too bummed, it was a fun ride and I can’t wait for next season to tip off for the Aztecs,” Reiner said.

Many avid March Madness followers may have noticed a slight dip in personal productivity during this three week long tournament. According to Challenger March Madness Productivity Report, the nation’s workers spend more than eight million hours watching March Madness games.

“It’s tough to admit, but homework is not a priority during the tourney, especially at the beginning,” Reiner said.

Reiner was not the only one to fall victim to March Madness. For sports fanatics, school often becomes the first casualty during the tournament, and all work takes a backseat during game time.

“During these three weeks I lose all motivation for school work,” Du said. “It’s a tough obstacle to overcome,”

Smart phones have made retrieving scores for games especially quick and easy. The NCAA March Madness and ESPN Scorecenter apps have been popular.

“I check the scores for the games a couple times every hour if I’m not already seated right in front of the TV,” Junior Austin Paterson said.

As the tournament comes to a close, hopefully these students will regain the motivation to end the school year strong.